Stronger than you think
by bijtjen
Summary: Effie Sevirren is seventeen years old when she gets reaped for the 70th hunger games, but she is not who you think she is. She's stronger than you think… and what if she isn't alone? What if Katniss and Peeta weren't the first starcrossed lovers?
1. Prologue

**Stronger than you think**

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PROLOGUE:

It was just another average day in district 10. As the 16-year old Effie Sevirren made her way to school it suddenly started raining. She started running, so she wouldn't get too wet, but it was no use. The rain kept pouring, even after Effie reached the district 10 school. The school was a very old and grey building where every kid in the district had their classes. Most were about how 'great' the capitol was or about the district 10 industry: livestock. It was boring, always…

Effie walked towards her first class of the day, dripping wet. She tried to wring out her dark brown curls on the way, but it didn't help at all. When she walked in she saw her red-haired best friend Alexis sitting on a table alone, so she sat down next to her.  
"Damn, Effs, what have you done? You are dripping wet!" Alexis said.  
"If you look outside, you'll have your answer, Lexie…" She answered. They both giggled, because it was so obvious. In the end they were sitting next to a window…

Just then a group of four students walked in. Effie knew them all too good, they were the bullies, the popular kids in the school. There was a blond haired boy named Peter, a brunette called Alice and a blond girl named Lisa.

And of course there was the tall black haired, green eyed guy who happened to be the mayor's son. His name was Cade Evans, he was the leader of the group and the absolute worst of them all. Cade used to be her best friend when they were kids, but that all changed when they were ten years old. He started to hang out with the popular kids while Effie preferred to keep as far away from the popular group as possible.

"Well, dwarf, been swimming?" Lisa asked her. The popular group had been bullying her for as long as she could remember. The reason was simple: she was different from the others and her being quite small didn't help at all.

When Cade befriended them it only got worse and she was so sick and tired of it. She had enough of being weak and ever since she snuck out into the woods after school. There she trained herself for the hunger games in hope of showing people one day that she wasn't some weak little girl just because she was small, no she was strong.

After six years of training she was pretty lethal already. She had started with knife and spear throwing. Those were easy weapons to get her hands on because they were used a lot in her district.

The spear she stole one night from a nearby living farmer and the knives she bought in the market saying it was for her parents. She had also started running and doing other exercises especially to grow some muscle.

Two years ago she had carved herself a bow and arrows with one of her knives and now she was still practicing with them. She was getting better and better every day, but still kept practicing. She had grown to love her little escapes from the world.

Out in the woods she could be herself, she could be the person no one knew. Not even her best friend, Alexis, or her family knew about it.

Alice had repeated Lisa's question in the main time, but Effie had decided to just ignore them for now. Answering them would only make it worse.

In the beginning she had hoped that Cade would help her but he never had, so she just gave up on him. She had tried to ignore him as best as she could over the years, but that didn't stop her from missing him just a tiny bit because she knew that deep inside of him that boy who had been her best friend must still be hiding.

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**Let me know what you think about it and if I should continue it !  
- Bijtjen-**

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	2. Chapter 1

**Hope you'll like it. I know it's short, but I prefer writing small chaps...soooo...  
Let me know what you think and I'll need some tributes so let me know if you want to submit one! (Name, age, district, looks,...)**

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CHAPTER 1:

I opened my eyes to see the sunlight shining through my bedroom window.

I knew it. Today was the day, the day I would volunteer for the hunger games. It was reaping again and district 10 was about to have their first volunteer ever and that volunteer would be non-other than 17-year old Effie Sevirren.

I was ready, prepared and knew it was time to show them that they didn't own me. I was ready to show them that I was stronger than they thought.

I checked the time and saw it was 9 o'clock which meant that I had 5 more hours before the reaping. One of those hours would be spend getting ready, but during the other I could do whatever I pleased and of course I decided to sneak out into the forbidden woods to do some last practicing.

I got dressed in a plain black pants and a dark blue t-shirt and walked downstairs, there I sat down at the dining table where my parents, Leah and Allen, and my brother and sister, Noah and Lily, were already seated. Noah was 14 and Lily was only 11.

My siblings looked exactly like my mom with their dark blond hair and crystal blue eyes, while I looked more like my father who had dark brown hair and green eyes. The only thing I really had inherited from my mother were her blue eyes and her length.

My brother was three years younger but already a few inches taller than me. He often teased me with it and that would almost always end in a tickling match. I let him win most of the times 'cause I could easily pin him, hands down.

"Hi there, little one." Noah greeted me.

"Goodmornin'!" I replied cheerily while ruffling his hair.

"What's gotten you so happy? Did you forget it's Reaping day?" My mom asked me.

I didn't know what to say to that, I mean I was happy because it was Reaping today but they didn't know that. I debated with myself if I should tell them or if I should keep quiet for now. I really didn't know, but if I didn't tell them they would be terribly upset so I decided to tell them anyway.

"I didn't forget…," I hesitated before continuing, "I… euhm… I…" I couldn't get it out, I had no idea how to tell my family that I wanted to go into the games, that I trained for this. What if they were angry at me or even worse: afraid.

"You what, Effs?" My dad asked.

"I…I… oh god I have to get this out: I'm going in today!" I finally told them.

They were speechless, they had no idea how to act or what to say to me.

"I don't understand…" Noah said.

"I meant that I am going in the hunger games, today. Either I'll be reaped or I'll volunteer, but I'm going in no matter what."

"You can't go in there, Effie, you'll be killed." My little sis', Lily, whispered.

"Don't worry, Lils, I'll come back. I'm not going to leave you guys." I said.

"Effie why in hell would you want to go in these games? The only thing that happens there is killing! You could be dead in under a minute! I'm not letting you go in there!" My father yelled. I don't think he was really angry, I think he was rather scared for me.

"I'm going, dad, there is no way you can stop me," I answered calmly, "I want this, I've always wanted this. You have no idea what I'm capable of." The last part I said a little more fierce fully.

"But why?" My mother asked defeated.

"Because I want to prove that I'm not weak like everyone thinks! I want to show them that I'm not who they think I am. I want them to know the real me, the me who doesn't give up and who will do anything to win. I want them to see the me that's going to the victor of the 70th hunger games!"

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